HERPES DRUG TERMED PROMISING

By WALTER SULLIVAN

Published: April 27, 1984

New medication for genital herpes has been tested and, according to two Federal specialists, offers the first genuine hope for effectiveness both as treatment and protection against recurrence.

It is estimated that 5 million to 20 million people suffer from this form of herpes.

The treatment consists of administering in capsule form the drug acyclovir, which was previously used as a salve in treating various forms of herpes, but with little success against the genital variety. The drug is produced by the Burroughs Welcome Company, whose profits support a medical research foundation. It markets the salve under the brand name Zovirax.

In its new form the drug is not available for general use and has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Furthermore, according to Dr. Richard Reichman and others who tested it in 250 herpes patients, it is not yet certain whether its long-term daily use will have side effects. Researchers From 7 Institutions

Dr. Reichman is at the Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y. and was formerly at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington. He and researchers from six other institutions describe the treatment in The Journal of the American Medical Association published yesterday.

In that same issue their findings and those of other researchers are assessed by two specialists from the Federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Dr. Willard Cates and William Whittington. ''We now may be on the horizon of having a meaningful treatment for genital herpes,'' they wrote. ''Yet at the same time, we must proceed cautiously.''

The finding, they said, portends use of the drug ''to avoid recurrences altogether.'' It has not been shown to eliminate return of the disease after treatment stops.

This type of herpes simplex virus differs from the less insidious form that causes lip inflammations (''fever blisters'' or ''cold sores''). The researchers said administration of the oral drug cut short the time when patients were infective and speeded healing of the sores accompanying the disease.